Indo adventure

I dreamt about going to the ‘land of lefts’. A goofy foots paradise surrounded by tropical beauty. Our mission eight months ago when we arrived in Australia, was to make money and travel to Indonesia. After working hard, saving our pennies, while enjoying Aussie culture, we found ourselves packing our bags and getting ready to embark on the next journey. A journey that we were ready for.

Andrew we miss you 

final days in Oz
After arriving in Denpasar, Bali we quickly adapted to the heat, the crowds of people and the bartering for everything.  We were surprised that after a decade plus of tourism that Indonesia has been exposed to, the cost of traveling and living has not significantly increased.  

Accommodation is very affordable. Of course, this is subject to the quality and comfort you desire and the size of your wallet. Cheap as chips, you can stay for $3 a night; but be aware of the moldy walls, poorly functioning toilets - and don’t even think about looking under the sheets. On the other hand, there maybe a pool; and one thing I have learnt is that pools in a humid tropical city become your best friends. For a more comfortable and clean room, plan on spending $7 to $10 a night - still inexpensive. 

 We found transportation very reasonable, including renting a scooter for just $3 a day.  I didn’t end up driving the scooter much because dodging and weaving through traffic was not my specialty; so I left it up to Chapin and he did a fantastic job. Chapin took the reins and learnt the chaotic road rules, which basically meant - big car has right of way, scooter history if not careful. 

Indo food is so yummy! By the way, giblets is what I called cheap roadside local food. Chapin and I lived on giblets. Whenever we arrived in a new town the first thing we would do is source out the best giblet lady. Giblets were a variety of mixed vegetable dishes, tofu and tempeh prepared in different sauces, meat of some kind, tons of eggs, noodles, and always served with rice.  This would cost us about $1 for a heaping plate. Beer, on the other hand, was not that inexpensive. Just under a litre of Bingtang, the local beer, costs $3. This adds up. I can honestly say it is probably where most of our money went. But who really cares when you’re on vacation because beer is a most have. 

To go back and explain the beginning statement when I mentioned a “land of lefts”. I am speaking about the waves. I have only ever seen such perfect, beautiful waves in videos but never experienced them firsthand. From the crystal clear turquoise coloured ocean, the live coral reef, the bathtub temperature water to the perfect shape and consistency of each set and each wave that rolls in, makes it a paradise to any surfer.  This is what I had seen in videos and got to experience first hand. It definitely lived up to my expectations. It is amazing how quickly your skills advance with perfect, predictable waves.

typical Indo food "Nasi Goreng"

Indonesian cultural is a blend of Hindu and Muslim. As far as third world goes, I did not see much poverty. There was little or no begging. I found the people to be friendly and helpful. We meet genuine people and felt welcomed in most homes. Our experiences, of course, were based on the areas that we travelled in, a small section of Indonesia. 

Time is a crazy thing. It has been eight months since we were last home. In those eight months we have travelled to new places, meet new people, experienced new cultures, ate and drank in abundance, leaned about ourselves and the importance of support, patience, and friendship. After an amazing eight months of sun, surf and living the dream it had to come to an end.  I never like to think of an end in a negative light but as a new beginning of growth and opportunity.  Chapin and I parted ways. Chapin headed back to California to reconnect with his family and friends, while I returned to BC  to educate myself in business management and the fundamental principals of starting a business.

cutest kids

coping chapin's stilo

A new chapter begins for the both of us. We will take what we have learned and apply it to our lives ahead. We both have future goals in Nicaragua. My next three months in BC will be spent learning, planning and moving towards my goals. Hence, I am changing the focus of the blog. Thank you to all Chindia followers. As Chindia adventures has come to an end, a new beginning for indiaadventures launches. I will continue to write about my time spent in the Pacific Northwest and the progress towards a business. It will be new, fresh and exiting. Stay tuned.

there is a baby in that sack her name is Sabrina

Me and Biggie

 

Singing out one last time

Chindia

April 2011 final days in Margaret River

Dinner party

It has been a fantastic 6months in Margaret River but like all things it has come to an end. I would like to give a brief description of our experience in Margaret River from the challenge of finding a house, to driving on the opposite side of the street dodging the kangaroos and learning how to understand the Aussie slang!

It is not so cheap in Western Australia. A six-pack of standard lager costs $16. A nice meal out on the town with a glass of wine, dinner, dessert will cost a minimum of 50 a person. That being said it is all relative to the wage you are earning. A minimum wage here is $18 per hour. Not bad Right!. So all being said as long as you got a job with 25hrs of work a week you are living pretty good. Chapin and I started with about $200 each when we arrived at the end of October in Margaret River and manage to get jobs within the first week. We found a kick ass apartment in the first month, some chill flat mates, a Ford laser that gets us to the beach everyday and freedom to explore the beautiful wineries of the region.

Pizza Party

Life has been pretty fantastic, I feel bad for mentioning it but the weather has been nothing but sunshine everyday. While the rest of Australia was flooding we were heading to the beach, I guess you can say we were in the right place at the right time. Actually Chapin reckons if you run into a familiar face along your journey through life then you are exactly where you are supposed to be. And we have seen many familiar faces. Good signs!

We didn’t get a chance to hit up many wineries this month due to other exciting events and work opportunities but those are worth mentioning.  The first week of April Chapin and I worked for a 6 star ASP surf event held here at Margaret River’s main break. It was a full on week of work, excitement and perks. We didn’t get to watch much surfing during the event being a hit coffee and food stand but we met some cool promoters, event staff and surfers. As well we got to work with a sensational team of people which pretty much was the icing on the cake.  Plus we saved some good coin for Bali. It was a great week but pulling 14 to 16 hour days when it was done we were both relieve

Chaps being sneaky

Are next exciting event was the Blues and Roots festival where we got to see Toots and the Maytals, Rodrigo and Gabriela (I would you tube these guys) and Michael Franti perform. As well Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Elvis Costello and many more. What a great festival, probably one of the best lineups so far. We had great company from Andrew are intelligent awesome Aussie friend and some of our crazy fun Margaret river friends.

  

Renada and chaps

With about a week left and lots to do I am feeling a little overwhelmed. It is Easter break but that means no break for us. The restaurants will be pumping with people so no rest till the fat lady sings. With only six months of living in one spot it’s surprising how much you can accumulate; cars, house accessories and toys. Everything must go!




Chapin’s and mine objective for heading to Australia was to earn enough money to enjoy months in Indonesia a land of surf, sun and massage. What happens after Bali is still a mystery but we will try to maintain our blog with new interesting news of Chindia’s adventures through South East Asia. Thanks for becoming a fan.

Chindia

April 2011

March 2011

MARCH 2011, Chapin and I are still going strong tasting our way through each vine of grape, eating the lush seasonal fruits and surfing around the rocky coasts of W.A

Little creatures our favorite beer

February ended with a road trip to Perth to attend the Good Vibes music festival. In tow was our German squatter Flow who has been living in our front yard for the past two weeks.

Are German mate Flow

Immediately after arriving in “Freeo” where our good friend Andrew lives we headed to the Little Creatures brewery to get primed for the concert. The brewery is set in an old canary on the docks of Freeo harbor. We have tried all their beers and cider’s and have never been disappointed. Each is full flavored and unique in its own way and remains our favorite brewery in W.A.  After a few pints and a good buzz we headed to the music fest. Due to a lack of ticket sales we were able to take our friends for free.

Are pals Fernanda and Andrew

A quick summary of the concert… Damien and Nas rocked it. Eryka Badu pulled it together for the last half of the show. The Bag Raiders were an unexpected “joy” for Chindia and Phoenix brought the house down. There were many more acts and performers but we could be here all day. Big shout out to Andrew and Fernanda for there hospitality.

  

Eryka Badu 

                 We started March with the Edwards Tiger Tale Winery.  The story behind the name comes from a father’s journey from England to Australia in an old single prop Tiger Moth airplane. He flew to raise money for the organization (Widows of WWII) that cared for him and his mother after is father went missing. After he passed away his two sons continued on creating a very successful winery.  The Cab Merlot and CAB Sav were a standout and with out a doubt our favorite wines in the region. They are what we splurge on when Chapin works more then 25hrs a week.

Next stop was Sandelford winery. Standouts… Their Rose, a friendly cellar door lady and their port. Sandelford held one of the biggest concerts of the summer selling 12,000 tickets to all the Michael Bubble fans.

We took a break from wineries and headed out to sample and compare the last two unvisited breweries in the area. Colonial Brewery had a nice I.P.A but didn’t offer much more in the way of comfort and style. I am recognizing a pattern with all the breweries and there manicured lakes. I don’t think they release how bad it looks.

Chaps having a pint at Colonial Brewery 

Cowaramup Brewery…again manicured lake with a bit more effort put into the grounds. Still nothing comparing to Little Creatures but their beer was tasty.

Last stop and bring us up to date was the wonderful, magnificent, lush, Berry Farm. We indulged in a scrumptious brunch with a tasty glass of sparkling pear wine. Everything we ate and drank was grown, produced, and prepared on the farm. Yummm!

April is our last month here in Maragaret River before we continue our journey to Indonesia. Our last blog will not only be about our visits to wineries but a summary of our experiences and life in Margaret River.

Chindia

Blog numero dose

Wow does time ever fly. One month has gone by since the last Chindia blog and it’s time to produce another. We will be touching upon not only wineries but breweries as well and maybe give a shout out to those who made it all possible. We have started having a fan club and we would like to give a big thanks to those who are joining our adventure through the vines of Australia. Yes Matty that’s you. We’re pretty sure you are our number one fan. Cheers mate!

We haven’t been to as many wineries recently do to selling our car and having broken bikes so are list will be a little shorter. We will start off with the Clairault winery: it’s trying hard to be a modern French vineyard but the wines were tasty and the cellar door lady was very nice. On the way home being tired of the repetitive wine spiel we stopped by Bootleg brewery to chill out and have a pint. Bootleg is reminiscent of a German style brew house set in the countryside with big outdoor picnic tables, stains of beer and fields of grass. Given our German backgrounds we felt right at home. By this point I was getting pretty buzzed so we stepped it up and headed out to the GROVE. Now the grove is not for your average wine taster. It is for the big leagues where Alcohol percentages can double or triple per tasting. The grove is a liqueur factory. Step one… pick your flavor and have a small sip (examples of flavors… raspberry, lemoncillo, chocolate, hazelnut etc.). Step two…pick your mixer which could be any thing from another flavored liqueur, heavy cream or soda. Step three, get it in ya! Yummmmm! That’s all I can say. But be careful, one to many and your not walking out of there alone. Luckily I had Chapin by my side.

My homey Jess on a Girls day out 

                                                    

   Madfish and Howard Park winery was one of my first wineries visited without out Chapin.   Instead I had my good buddy Jess for the day. The Cellar door had an Asian style atmosphere and the grounds surrounding it were beautiful. There Riesling and Rose were delicious and the cellar door lady was friendly and knowledgeable. I am starting to distinguish the flavors of each grape more and am starting to understand wine terminology. I am noticing times of the day I enjoy curtain wines more then others and think for the first time I can actually pronounce Sauvignon Blanc Semillon correctly!

Next stop Bush Shack Brewery. One of my favorite spots in WA so far.  It’s set in the mitts of farmers fields with a  homey style barn shack atmosphere and a magical Eucalyptus Grandis and some dam good locally brewed chili beer. It is a spot worth returning to.

Secret swimming hole

Our Aussie mate Ben

In summary “with a little help from your friends” you can get out of margs, grab a beer, sample same wines and enjoy the hot sunny days. So Thanks to… Jess for helping give Chinda’s blog content. Thanks to Max and Ben for taking us diving and surfing. Big Thanks to our little German house mate kata for keeping a happy bubbly environment around the household and including us in all your adventures. Once again a big thanks to Matty for showing your enthusiasm towards Chinda and giving Chapin rides home from work.

Until next time,

Chindia

It has been an adventure since we left Nicaragua. A place where the lack of authority and miss understanding of cultural and social norms allowed us to feel free. Different from our first world existence of living in a police state and being limited in our self expression. Yet within our first world existence we appreciate certain comforts such as healthy organic food, recycling, drinkable tap water, punctuality and reliability. This brings us to date and why we keep traveling, searching, looking for the balance between unlimited freedom and sanity. We find ourselves Down Under in a land of opportunity, adventure and mystery. 

December 28^th 2010. Chap and I are living in Margaret River. It’s a small rural town located south west of Perth the main city in W.A(western Australia). The main attraction to Margaret River and the surrounding area is the vineyards. We are centered in the Mecca of wineries. Within the region there are 72 vineyards. Do you know how much wine tasting that is? Chapin and I are on a mission to successfully sample all the wines in all the vineyards and hopefully become a bit more wine savvy if not just drunk. I don’t think I will ever be able to appreciate boxed wine again. Well unless it is really cold, I am in Playa Gigante and Gary Hongos has just cooked a fabulous meal. Then maybe I can let it slide for a sip.

January 14^th 2011. So far Chapin and I also known as “Chindia”  have visited 9 wineries. Some are very wealthy with manicured grounds and others small, cute and quaint.

                                           Lovely friend of ours Jess 

Lets start with Leeuwin Estate. Standouts…their architectural feng shui complemented the surrounding landscape and overall vibe. The cellar door lady was very informative, their signature artistic labels were cool and their chardonnay was lovely.

Voyager Estate standouts…their rose garden and the Cab Merlo. Lesson learned; a rose bushes root structure is very similar to a grape vine and will become diseased before the grape vine. Indicating a potential plague to the crop. That’s why there is a rose bush planted in front of every row of grapes. 

Redgate Wines standouts…good ports and friendly cellar door staff. Factode; Redgate winery is one of the first wineries in the area.

 Xanadu winery  “the name of Kubla Khan’s palace”. Architecturally appropriate for it’s name and the area in which it’s set on.  There was a cellar door staff member who was possible on speed or some kind of methamphetamine and really wanted to go to Madagascar. He didn’t talk to much about the wine.

Stella Bella/ Skuttlebutt standouts, their SBS (Sauvignon Blanc Semillon), the cellar door staff were exceptionally friendly and their wine is one of the most popular in the area. Lesson learned for India: skuttlebutt means; rumor or gossip.

Watershed winery main attraction was Jorge a lovely German fellow. The wineries vistas were Chapin’s favorite.

                                    meet jorge

Howling Wolves Wines had a uninformative cellar door lady and there was no standouts. 

Evans and Tate, two words, Classic white. “It’s a beautiful blend of fruit flavors with a crisp dry finish easy to drink any time of the day.” According to our cellar door lady. TRUE! We also enjoyed their sparkling wines. It should be noted after the last 8 wineries Chapin does not like Shiraz and refuses to taste any more of them.

Last winery to date is Swings and Roundabouts. I loved this winery for it’s small, cozy family run feel. The cellar door lady was brilliant and overall the wines we sampled were tasty.

To sum up our experience so far all the cellar door people describe there wines the same…“You’ll find it has a hint of cherry”, or “…hints of vanilla” or “OOOW this one has a finish of passion fruit”… “This wine is great for sipping on a hot summer day”… “This wine goes great with fish or chicken”… “you’ll really notice this wine on the back of your tongue”… or “this red leaves your tongue feeling dry”. It gets a bit repetitive but with the right cellar door staff and a little personality your experience can be enhanced ten fold. But we will continue our journey drinking our way around Margaret River until the summer is over. Stay tune for our monthly postings.

Yours truly

Chindia